How Your Small Business Can Weather the Brexit Storm

Since the referendum on leaving the EU last year, everything has been rather uncertain in the world of business. It still often seems like no one is exactly sure what is happening or what will happen, 18 months after the referendum and almost nine months after Article 50 was triggered. Some small business owners were sure that Brexit would be good for them, while others weren’t convinced. Some people may have changed their mind, but there is still disagreement about whether it’s ultimately a good thing for small businesses. Although the UK has yet to leave the EU, the impact is already being felt by some, and small business owners are looking for ways to weather the storm.

Make the Most of British Design and Talent

One thing that British businesses can do is emphasise their Britishness. This is an especially good idea for any manufacturers or designers that already make an effort to source materials within the UK and manufacture locally too. Making a point to tell people that your business is British can be beneficial both within the UK and abroad. It can work for those providing services too. For example, a copywriting business that only uses British writers or a company that provides customer support within the UK can both be attractive to their target markets.

Don’t Give Up on Exporting

Brexit has made many people consider whether it could be more difficult to trade internationally once the UK leaves the EU. Some believe it could be easier for small businesses, but others disagree. Although things will change, it doesn’t mean that small businesses need to give up on trading internationally. In fact, now could be the time to start looking into international import and export. Some small businesses are using exporting to help them in the runup to Brexit officially happening. Higher costs, resulting from changes in the value of the pound have meant many businesses have turned to overseas sales. And the lower value of the pound has made their products more affordable to people abroad.

Scale Down If You Need To

If you’re a small business, it’s helpful to be able to scale up or down when you need to. You don’t necessarily need to decrease how productive your business is being, but you might want to make your business model leaner. If you’ve come up against hard times or you’re anticipating that things could start getting difficult, you could consider using a remote model and enlisting contractors instead of having full-time employees.

Plan for Any Eventuality

Although it has been over a year since the referendum, there is still a lot of uncertainty around what Brexit will actually look like. This makes things tough for small businesses because it can be hard to plan for the future. What you can do is try to make plans for different scenarios so that you’re not left floundering, whatever happens.

Being prepared for the UK leaving the UK can help to put your small business in a better position. No matter how your business is impacted, whether positively or negatively, it’s better if you’re not taken by surprise.